Chrysanthemum plant named `Empire Peach Champagne`

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named Empire Peach Champagne, characterized particularly by its peach ray florets, almost fully double flowers which are very resistant to shattering; compact, cushion habit; 6.0-8.0 cm capitulum diameter; a natural season flower date of September 20; and 7 week flower response in light/shade programs.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora, andreferred to by the cultivar name Empire Peach Champagne.

Empire Peach Champagne is a product of a mutation induction program. Thenew cultivar was discovered and selected by the inventor Janet S. Fuessin March 1993 in a controlled environment in New Hartford, N.Y. as oneflowering plant within a flowering block established as rooted cuttingsfrom stock plants which had been exposed as rooted cuttings to an X-raysource of 1270-1800 rads in Mulberry, Fla. on Jan. 7, 1993. Theirradiated parent cultivar was Pink Champagne, disclosed in U.S. PlantPat. No. 6,920 and described as a decorative garden mum with lavenderpink color.

The irradiation program resulting in Empire Peach Champagne had as itsprimary objective the expansion of color ranges of the parent cultivarPink Champagne. The irradiation program comprised irradiating ofcuttings of the parent cultivar at radiation levels of a minimum of 1270and a maximum of 1800 rads for 90 seconds. A total of 1375 cuttingsharvested from a total of 500 irradiated plants were flowered on Mar. 8,1993. Of these, 69 initial selections were made, which selections werethen revegetated and reflowered on Aug. 28, 1993 and again Feb. 6, 1994.Twelve selections remained stable, and were flowered on May 22, 1994 andSep. 18, 1994 before choosing the final 3 selections. These threevarieties were further trialed in New Hartford, N.Y. and Oxnard, Calif.,ultimately resulting in the decision to introduce one selection asEmpire Royal Champagne, one as Empire Gold Champagne, both of which aredisclosed in pending application Ser. No. 08/670,280 and 08/670,278,respectively, and one as Empire Peach Champagne.

The first act of asexual reproduction of Empire Peach Champagne wasaccomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken from the initialselection in June 1993 in a controlled environment in New Hartford, N.Y.by a technician working under formulations established and supervised bythe inventor. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated inSeptember 1993 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristicsas herein disclosed for Empire Peach Champagne are firmly fixed and areretained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.

Empire Peach Champagne has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly withvariations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, and daylength, without, however, any variance in genotype. The followingobservations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in NewHartford, N.Y. under natural outdoor conditions which approximate thosegenerally used in commercial practice.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe basic characteristics of Empire Peach Champagne which in combinationdistinguish this Chrysanthemum as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Peach ray floret color.

2. Almost fully double flowers, with only a few disc florets present.

3. Flowers very resistant to shattering.

4. Fully expanded ray florets are approximately 30-35 mm long and 7-8 mmwide.

5. Average of 360 ray florets per capitulum.

6. Capitulum is 6-8 cm in diameter.

7. Seven (7) week flower response in light/shade programs.

8. Performs well in the outdoor garden, with a natural season floweringdate of September 20 in New Hartford, N.Y.

9. Compact cushion habit, making it suitable for production in 4" up to8" containers.

Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the mostsimilar in comparison to Empire Peach Champagne is the parent cultivarPink Champagne.

In comparison to Pink Champagne, Empire Peach Champagne differs only inray floret color, with Empire Peach Champagne having a peach flowercolor, compared to the lavender pink flower color of Pink Champagne. Allother traits of Empire Peach Champagne are similar to those samecharacteristics of Pink Champagne. Empire Peach Champagne is alsodistinguished from sibling cultivars Empire Gold Champagne and EmpireRoyal Champagne by ray floret color. In addition, Empire Gold Champagnehas a 1 week later flower response.

The accompanying color photographic drawing comprises a top perspectiveview showing typical inflorescence and foliage characteristics of EmpirePeach Champagne, with colors being as nearly true as possible withillustrations of this type.

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart. The color values were determinedbetween 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM on Sep. 29, 1995 under 4,000 footcandles atNew Hartford, N.Y.

CLASSIFICATION:

Botanical.--Dendranthema grandiflora cv. Empire Peach Champagne.

Commercial.--Decorative garden mum.

Inflorescence:

A. Capitulum:

Form.--Flat.

Type.--Double.

Diameter across face.--6-8 cm.

B. Corolla of ray florets:

Color: (general tonality from a distance of three meters).--Peach.

Color (upper surface).--24D, blending to 179D at tips.

Color (under surface).--23D blending to 179D at tips.

Corolla of disc florets:

Color (mature).--7A.

Color (immature).--5A.

Reproductive organs:

Androecium.--Very few, present in disc florets only.

Gynoecium.--Present in both disc and ray florets.

Plant

A. General appearance:

Height.--25-35 cm. when grown in an 8" pot.

B. Foliage:

Color (upper surface).--147A.

Color (lower surface).--147B.

Size and Shape.--Ovate with cleft margins. Approximately 6.0 cm long,4.5 cm wide, and 5-lobed.

It is Claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed Empire Pink Champagne, as illustrated and described.